In their first league game of the season, Weston went down 1 – 2 to a defensively solid Poole Town, who scored two goals late on in the game to clinch their first three points of the campaign.
Weston looked to get the ball down on the turf and use their height disadvantage to move the ball around quickly, with the midfield, forwards and full-backs constantly seeking space.
Seagulls Captain Ash Kington drove wide from 25 yards midway through the half on his first sight of goal, before Jack Dickson dragged his effort wide for the visitors a couple of minutes later.
Poole were unlucky to not go into the break 0 – 1 up when a shot from Jack Dickson was scuffed, allowing Luke Burbidge to scamper onto the loose ball and slot past Luke Purnell, but Burbidge was adjudged to have been offside.
Weston had a golden chance to break the deadlock just before the hour mark when Danny Greenslade found himself in space down the left flank and his driven cross towards the back post was put wide by a full stretch Tristan Plummer.
Greenslade continued to cause problems for Poole down the left and his cross was headed narrowly over by first-half substitute Jake Mawford, despite it appearing to come off a Poole defender last.
Poole immediately went down the other end, and after a rare mistake from goalkeeper Purnell, the shot was driven towards goal but for a flying Jason Pope, who managed to stoop and head the ball off the line.
Mawford managed to hold off a defender as he weaved along the edge of Poole’s box, before the afternoon’s controversy took hold.
A cross from Ash Harper found its way to substitute Jake Reid inside the box. Desite Reid being pulled down by his marker he managed to scoop the ball over the keeper and into the net. With the referee and the linesman originally giving a goal, but the protests of Poole’s players continued and the referee eventually gave it as a free-kick to Poole.
Minutes later Plummer found himself walking down the tunnel 15 minutes early when the officials deemed him to be using his hand to block a free-kick as he charged the spot kick down.
Poole took the lead when a cross towards the near post was met by substitute Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain, the brother of England international Alex, and he side-footed a volley into the roof of the net.
Poole went 0 – 2 up as the clock hit the 90th minute when Jake Smeeton managed to place a shot into the corner of Purnell’s net from just inside the box.
Weston grabbed a late consolation when Dayle Grubb clipped a cross into the back post, with Reid on hand to nod past the keeper.
FT: Weston 1-2 Poole (Reid 90+3-Oxlade Chamberlain 81, Smeeton 90)
Weston XI: Purnell, Harper, Greenslade, Cane (Mawford 41), Baldwin, Pope, Welch (Laird 84), Kington(C), Plummer (S/O 75), Grubb, Seymour (Reid 68). Unused substitutes: Hill, Kingston.
MOTM: Aden Baldwin – On the debut of his second spell at Weston, Baldwin put in an impressive shift for Weston, putting in strong challenges and making great last-ditch challenges to prevent Poole opportunities